Written Answers Friday 12 May 2006

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people under 16 have entered rehabilitation in respect of alcohol misuse for each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally.

Alcohol Misuse

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many foreign nationals in Scotland had a charge proved in each year since 1999, broken down by main offence and main penalty.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally.

Antisocial Behaviour

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) have been issued on conviction by each sheriff court since the introduction of this option.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table.

  Number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders Issued on Conviction, by Sheriff Court, 1 March 2005 to 31 March 2006

  

 Court
 Number of Orders


 Duns
 6


 Elgin
 3


 Falkirk
 3


 Glasgow
 7


 Inverness
 1


 Jedburgh
 11


 Kilmarnock
 1


 Kirkcudbright
 2


 Linlithgow
 1


 Paisley
 1


 Peebles
 6


 Peterhead
 6


 Selkirk
 6


 Stranraer
 1


 Total
 55

Bridges

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23221 by Tavish Scott on 13 March 2006, whether the regulatory parts of the Invergarry-Kyle of Lochalsh Trunk Road (A87) Extension (Skye Bridge Crossing) Special Road Scheme Order 1992 (SI 1992/1499), prescribing both the route and use by all classes of traffic on that route, still apply.

Tavish Scott: The Invergarry-Kyle of Lochalsh Trunk Road (A87) Extension (Skye Bridge Crossing) Special Road Scheme 1992 (SI 1992/1499) remains in place.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Bridges

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the operation of the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow, following the removal of tolls from the Erskine Bridge, and consider the removal of the barrier which separates the two western lanes from the rest of the carriageway, thereby forcing northbound M8 traffic to divert into the city centre to access the west of the city.

Tavish Scott: The safety barrier on the westbound carriageway of the Kingston Bridge was introduced in 1994 for safety reasons during major works on the bridge. As the safety barrier considerably reduced accident rates by removing the weaving effect of traffic changing lanes to leave the bridge and also reduced traffic delays on the M8, it has been retained as a permanent feature.

  Whilst the removal of tolls at Erskine Bridge will reduce traffic levels on Kingston Bridge, in the interests of road safety there are no plans to alter the current traffic management layout.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Central Heating Programme

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it audits the customer satisfaction of individuals in receipt of installations or renewals under its central heating programme.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Eaga Partnership, which is the managing agent contracted to deliver the Central Heating Programme on behalf of the Scottish Executive, is required to provide details of customer satisfaction in monthly reports submitted to Communities Scotland. In addition, Communities Scotland commissions independent inspections of installations. These include monitoring of customer satisfaction.

Concessionary Travel

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates are available anent the number of (a) older people and (b) disabled people living in (i) West Renfrewshire and (ii) Inverclyde who will be eligible for free travel under the national concessionary travel scheme.

Tavish Scott: People aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people will be able to use the new Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people.

  Information for older people is based on the 2001 census which holds data based on local authority areas. As West Renfrewshire is a parliamentary constituency which is composed of parts of local authorities it is not possible to provide a figure for this area.

  The number of people aged 60 based on information from the 2001 census for Inverclyde is 18,521 and we estimate that the number of eligible disabled people will increase these totals by about 10%.

Concessionary Travel

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that local authorities may cut bus services to fund the national concessionary fare scheme.

Tavish Scott: The Scotland-wide Free Bus Scheme for Older and Disabled People is being run by Transport Scotland using resources withdrawn from the local government finance settlement which were previously used for funding the free local off-peak bus schemes and additional resources allocated centrally. The resources withdrawn from the settlement are the subject of an agreement with COSLA which ensures that local authorities continue to be resourced for concessionary travel on modes other than bus and that resources used for supported bus services are protected. Accordingly, there is no need or justification for local authorities to cut bus services to help fund the scheme.

Concessionary Travel

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to monitor any impact on bus service levels arising as a consequence of local authority obligations to fund the national concessionary fare scheme.

Tavish Scott: There are no consequences on local authorities to fund the Scotland-wide Free Bus Scheme for Older and Disabled People as it is funded by the Scottish Executive through Transport Scotland. When the Scheme was being set up, a fair split of resources was agreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) which ensured that the funding available to local authorities to support bus services was protected. Nevertheless, we will of course continue to monitor the provision in respect of bus services over time.

Defence

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers have had with UK ministers about the implications for Scotland of a decision on whether to replace Trident with a new nuclear weapons system.

Cathy Jamieson: Defence matters are reserved. Scottish ministers have not had any discussions with UK Ministers on this issue.

Education

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the overall budget for schools was spent on (a) departmental administration, including contractors and consultants, and (b) local authority administration in each year since 1999.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive does not set an overall budget for spend on school education, but funds local authorities who set their own budgets for different services including departmental administration. Due to accounting changes in the way local authority expenditure on education is reported, there is no information available on administration expenditure for 2002-03 onwards. Details of administration expenditure by local authorities prior to 2002-03 can be found on the Scottish Executive website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00303-00.asp .

  Expenditure by the Scottish Executive Education Department, schools group on departmental administration (including contractors and consultants) was less than one per cent of total spend on schools for each year since 1999.

Fire Safety

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing a scheme to allow the installation costs of hard-wiring as well as the purchase costs of smoke alarms to be provided for hard of hearing people.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Services, in partnership with special interest groups, already have arrangements in place to purchase and install specially designed alarms for the hard of hearing.

Fire Safety

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing a scheme to allow the purchase costs of smoke alarms with 10-year sealed batteries to be provided for hard of hearing people.

Hugh Henry: A scheme is already in place to install smoke alarms in domestic premises, including those occupied by people who are hard of hearing.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many angiography and angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft patients in each year since 1999 have waited longer than (a) eight and (b) 18 weeks for treatment, broken down by NHS (i) board and (ii) hospital.

Mr Andy Kerr: The majority of patients who require in-patient and day case treatment, particularly the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease, are seen and treated quickly. Over 53% of patients treated in NHSScotland hospitals receive immediate treatment and never join a waiting list. Of those whose condition does not require immediate treatment and who are placed on a waiting list, over 40% are admitted within one month.

  Reducing waiting times for the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease is a key priority for NHSScotland, and the Executive has been steadily reducing the maximum waiting times for angiography, angioplasty and coronary artery bypass grafts. The national maximum waiting time for angiography was reduced from 12 months to 12 weeks on 31 December 2002 and to eight weeks on 31 December 2004. On 31 December 2005, no patient with a guarantee had waited more than eight weeks for angiography. The national maximum waiting time for angioplasty and coronary artery bypass grafts was reduced from 12 months to 24 weeks on 31 December 2002 and to 18 weeks on 30 June 2004. On 31 December 2005, no patient with a guarantee had waited more than 18 weeks for angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft.

  From the end of 2007, no patient will wait more than 16 weeks from GP referral, through a rapid access chest pain clinic or equivalent, to cardiac intervention. Patients not presenting with chest pain will wait no more than 16 weeks for treatment after they have been seen as an out-patient by a heart specialist, and the specialist has recommended treatment.

  At that point, a new approach to defining and measuring waiting will also be introduced to replace availability status codes (ASCs), which have the effect at present of excluding patients from waiting times guarantees where for example, they are medically unfit for treatment, where they have asked for their treatment to be postponed, or where their treatment is highly specialised or of low clinical priority. The new approach will be fairer, more consistent and more transparent.

  Retrospective analyses of waiting times for hospital treatment compiled from SMR01 returns are based on data that does not record whether patients have had an ASC applied. Information on numbers of patients who waited more than eight weeks for angiography and 18 weeks for angioplasty and coronary artery bypass grafts has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39535): it includes the waiting times of patients who have been exempted from the guarantee for the reasons given above and therefore overstates true waiting times. It is not possible to estimate the extent of the overstatement. The SMR3 waiting times census data, which excludes patients with ASCs, is used for target compliance purposes, and the tables provided also include SMR3 data for angiography, angioplasty and coronary artery bypass graft surgery for NHSScotland from the censuses undertaken on 31 December in each year since 2002.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Communities Scotland operates a quality assessment system for local housing strategies and, if so, what the assessment criteria are and whether any submitted local housing strategies have failed an assessment.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows.

  Communities Scotland assesses local housing strategies against seven critical areas approved by ministers, and agreed with COSLA. These include market analysis, needs assessment and problem identification, resourcing, and monitoring and evaluation.

  In assessing against these criteria, Communities Scotland gives each local housing strategy a grade on a seven point scale which ranges from "outstanding" to "generally weak". These grades were developed in consultation with local authorities in an earlier pilot exercise.

  During 2003-04 all 32 local authorities submitted a local housing strategy to Communities Scotland for assessment. More than two-thirds achieved an overall grading of at least "good", which is the mid point on the scale. Of the remainder, Communities Scotland area teams work with local authorities to improve their strategies.

  The overall aim is to provide a benchmark for local authorities to continuously improve their local housing strategies, and support those which need to make significant improvements. More information on the assessment criteria and examples of good practice are available on the Communities Scotland website at www.lhs.communitiesscotland.gov.uk.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13891 by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 February 2005, whether new measures to mitigate any effects arising from the withdrawal of section 54 of the Housing Act 1988 are now in place and, if so, what the measures are.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her reply is as follows:

  The phasing out of Section 54 (Tax Relief Grant) was completed on 31 March 2005. A further transitional arrangement has been put in place for tax year 2005-06 whereby corporation tax liabilities of eligible registered social landlords (RSLs) will be funded by Communities Scotland up to a maximum of £100,000. Thereafter, Communities Scotland will deal with any issues of financial viability of individual RSLs if they occur.

Housing

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the (a) membership, (b) remit, (c) timescales and (d) targets for the Affordable Housing Working Party, announced by the Minister for Communities at the Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland’s annual conference on 7 March 2006.

Malcolm Chisholm: The membership and work programme for the group will be finalised in the near future. It is my intention that the first meeting of the group should be held in late June.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23626 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 April 2006, whether the Shirley McKie case has featured in any such informal discussions and whether, if there is any record of, or correspondence relating to, such discussions, this will be published.

Cathy Jamieson: Over the past nine years the Shirley McKie case will have arisen in the course of informal discussions with the Convenors of the Justice Committees and many other members with an interest in justice matters. Informal discussions are not normally formally recorded.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23601 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 April 2006, whether it can identify the two cases where the reliability of the identification was such that evidence was not used in court.

Cathy Jamieson: One case is that of Mark Sinclair, which concluded in the High Court in Ayr in October 2003 and to which reference has been made in previous parliamentary questions, including the answer to question S2W-3412 on 12 November 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The other case did not proceed to court and, therefore, it would be inappropriate to identify the individual concerned.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23973 by Cathy Jamieson on 3 April 2006, what the definition is of "some documents" which can be signed on the author’s behalf if that person is not available to sign the document personally.

Cathy Jamieson: This refers to the generally accepted practice in offices of signing a letter or memorandum on someone else’s behalf if he or she is not there to sign it for himself or herself. Such signatures are preceded by the Latin abbreviation "p.p." This stands for "per procurationem" meaning "by proxy".

  There is no such practice in relation to the identification of fingerprints.

Justice

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many foreign nationals found guilty of a crime in Scotland were deported in each year since 1999, broken down by crime committed.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Prison Service released 26 individuals into the custody of the Immigration Service in the 12 months up to April 2006, and one individual since then. Deportation of individuals from the UK is a matter for the Home Office. Information on foreign nationals deported or on reasons for deportation is not held centrally by the Scottish Executive.

Planning

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that local authorities meet the obligations placed on them by Planning Advice Note 65, Planning and Open Space, in January 2003.

Johann Lamont: Planning Advice Notes (PANs) contain advice and do not generally place obligations on local authorities. PAN 65 sets out good practice on the role of the planning system in protecting existing open space and ensuring provision associated with new development, and encourages local authorities to prepare an open space strategy based on an audit and assessment of open space provision and need.

  National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 11: Sport, Physical Recreation and Open Space is currently under review and a draft Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) will be published for consultation in the near future. A central part of the revised policy will be the introduction of a requirement for each local authority to prepare and update an open space audit and strategy to inform preparation of the development plan. The SPP will also introduce new national minimum standards for open space provision in certain types of new development.

Police

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers were unfit for duty as a result of stress in each year since 2001, broken down by force area and expressed also as a percentage of the total number of police officers.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.

Poverty

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle financial exclusion.

Johann Lamont: The Financial Inclusion Action Plan, published in January 2005 sets out what the Executive is doing now and its plans for the future. It also outlines what we expect from local authorities, credit unions and the money advice sector on an individual basis and through working together.

  Initiatives include:

  £5 million towards face to face money advice.

  Over £1 million towards financial literacy projects (Young Scot, GEMAP and six CAS pilot projects Scotland-wide).

  £10.6 million Financial Inclusion Funding to the 11 most financially excluded local authorities.

  Working with Money Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland on the Debt Arrangement Scheme.

  Setting up the Scottish Credit Union SGEI scheme – this scheme is an approval process to allow Scottish Credit Unions to be compensated for providing financial inclusion products.

Prison Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive for what average length of time prisoners have been locked in their cell (a) during the week and (b) at weekends in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  It is not possible to provide this data on a historical basis as the prisoner population has fluctuated over time and prisons have had the flexibility to vary staff shift times, subject to local negotiation. However, as a snapshot at the time of writing, the length of time prisoners are locked in their cell at night during the week ranges from nine hours to 10.5 hours, with an average per prison of 9.5 hours.

  The length of time prisoners are locked in their cell at night at weekends ranges from nine hours to 15 hours, with an average per prison of 13.5 hours.

Public Private Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to maximise the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises in PPP projects.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23499 on 9 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Public Transport

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that commuters from East Lothian who have limited alternative public transport options are protected against further rises in bus fares.

Tavish Scott: The bus industry in Scotland operates in an open market and it is for bus operators to use their commercial judgement to decide on the level of fares, the routes and the frequencies needed to provide bus services which are financially viable. To help reduce fares, we provide support direct to bus operators in the form of Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) to reimburse them for 80% of the excise duty paid on diesel fuel consumed. Provision for this is £56 million in 2005-06. BSOG benefits passengers by reducing fares from the level they would have been had the grant not been paid and thus encouraging increased bus use.

Public Transport

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people travelled by bus on the A85 Perth to Crieff/Comrie route in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people travelled by bus on the Perth to Edinburgh route in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people travelled by bus on the Crieff to Stirling route in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: Bus patronage figures are only available at national and regional level. This information is included in the Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin, Transport Series, Bus and Coach Statistics: 2004-05 which can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/20144624/0 .

Rail Network

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of First ScotRail’s operating budget is met by subsidy from public funds and what proportion of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport’s operating budget is met by revenue raised from collection of fares.

Tavish Scott: Financial information relating to First ScotRail’s operating costs is commercially confidential and cannot be released. However, the Scottish Executive will pay First ScotRail approximately £1.9 billion in ScotRail franchise payments over the seven year life of the franchise, subject to variation according to performance.

  None of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport’s operating budget will be met from fares revenue collected under the ScotRail franchise.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-23924 and S2W-24109 by Tavish Scott on 16 and 20 March 2006 respectively, when it expects an announcement to be made in respect of the feasibility study by Falkirk Council to improve rail services along the A80-M80 corridor, including opening a train station at Allandale.

Tavish Scott: I anticipate that I will be in a position to respond to the study of a new strategic Park and Ride site at Allandale before the end of May.

  Further issues will remain outstanding in relation to improving the rail services on the route, which will be considered during the preparation of a Rail Strategy later in the year.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23855 by Tavish Scott on 20 March 2006, why its planned on-line upgrade of the A80 to full motorway status is one lane smaller than that recommended by consultants in 2002.

Tavish Scott: Ministers opted for less carriageway provision than recommended by the study consultants as they did not wish to provide increased capacity for undesirable long distance commuting. An important part of that was the undertaking that, should they be required, integral traffic management measures would be implemented to maintain an acceptable level of service on the improved route. These measures could include ramp metering to assist joining traffic to take advantage of gaps in the mainline traffic and upstream ramp availability constraints and online metering to give priority to high occupancy vehicles and other economically important traffic.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to upgrade the A82.

Tavish Scott: On 19 April, I announced a number of initiatives on the A82 following the completion of the A82 Route Action Plan Review. A copy of the Executive Summary can be found on the Transport Scotland Website at: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/uploads/documents/scott_wilson_A82_Route_action_plan_executive_summary_march_06.pdf .

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fatal accidents there have been on each trunk road in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: The number of fatal accidents on each trunk road in each year since 1999 (January 1999 to December 2005) is as follows:

  

 Trunk Road
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 A1
 2
 3
 0
 2
 0
 1
 5


 A68
 2
 3
 1
 2
 2
 2
 1


 A6091
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A7
 0
 2
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1


 A701
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0
 2
 1


 A702
 0
 5
 1
 2
 1
 3
 0


 A720
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 1


 A725
 0
 0
 1
 2
 1
 0
 1


 A726
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A737
 0
 2
 0
 1
 1
 1
 0


 A738
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A75
 3
 1
 3
 6
 3
 1
 3


 A76
 4
 4
 2
 2
 2
 0
 4


 A77
 2
 3
 1
 3
 4
 4
 1


 A78
 5
 2
 3
 2
 3
 1
 0


 A751
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A8
 0
 0
 0
 3
 2
 1
 1


 A80
 1
 1
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A82
 8
 8
 5
 11
 7
 6
 7


 A823(M)
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0


 A828
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0


 A83
 2
 5
 3
 0
 1
 2
 2


 A830
 0
 2
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A835
 1
 0
 0
 1
 2
 1
 2


 A84
 0
 1
 2
 0
 3
 0
 1


 A85
 0
 6
 6
 2
 3
 5
 4


 A86
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A87
 0
 2
 2
 0
 0
 3
 0


 A876
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1


 A887
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1


 A889
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A893
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A898
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A9
 14
 13
 14
 6
 14
 14
 3


 A90
 6
 5
 14
 8
 11
 10
 7


 A92
 1
 2
 3
 2
 3
 3
 2


 A95
 0
 4
 0
 1
 2
 0
 1


 A96
 1
 5
 2
 5
 8
 6
 3


 A972
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A977
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 A985
 1
 2
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0


 A99
 2
 2
 0
 0
 0
 1
 1


 M73
 0
 0
 2
 0
 2
 0
 1


 M77
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0


 M74/A74(M)
 5
 4
 0
 9
 4
 5
 4


 M898
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 M9
 2
 0
 2
 1
 0
 0
 0


 M90
 0
 0
 2
 3
 0
 0
 2


 M8
 1
 8
 4
 2
 3
 2
 1


 M80
 0
 0
 1
 2
 1
 1
 1


 M876
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0



  The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on upgrading each trunk road in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: Details of expenditure on upgrading each trunk road in each year since 1999 are shown in the following table.

  

 Route
2001-02(£ Million)
2002-03(£ Million)
2003-04(£ Million)
2004-05(£ Million)
2005-06*(£ Million)


 A1
 1.34
 25.83
 5.50
 7.11
 1.26


 A6091
 0.10
 0.02
 
 0.01
 


 A68
 1.40
 0.14
 0.12
 0.19
 0.24


 A7
 0.01
 0.36
 0.05
 0.21
 0.23


 A701
 0.01
 0.02
 
 
 


 A702
 
 0.01
 0.30
 1.09
 1.74


 A720
 0.10
 0.19
 0.12
 0.12
 0.02


 A74(M)
 0.07
 0.03
 0.01
 0.05
 0.08


 A75
 0.06
 0.12
 
 0.06
 0.02


 A76
 1.01
 0.64
 1.21
 0.66
 0.73


 A77
 1.22
 4.24
 2.44
 0.46
 2.32


 A78
 0.63
 1.03
 17.41
 10.07
 2.13


 A8
 0.35
 7.71
 15.99
 
 0.24


 A80
 
 2.12
 6.07
 8.08
 9.19


 A82
 0.36
 0.36
 0.41
 0.13
 0.16


 A828
 0.25
 0.08
 0.09
 0.08
 0.12


 A83
 
 0.13
 0.28
 0.13
 0.27


 A830
 3.15
 6.04
 
 
 0.06


 A835
 0.02
 
 0.02
 0.33
 0.04


 A84
 
 0.47
 0.11
 
 0.16


 A85
 0.05
 0.06
 0.01
 0.02
 0.08


 A86
 
 0.01
 0.57
 0.02
 0.01


 A87
 
 0.01
 0.34
 0.12
 


 A898
 0.13
 
 
 
 


 A9
 0.01
 0.64
 0.68
 2.44
 2.34


 A90
 4.90
 11.34
 1.80
 0.92
 2.31


 A92
 0.02
 0.83
 2.26
 0.36
 0.20


 A95
 0.38
 0.69
 0.77
 0.55
 0.58


 A96
 0.67
 2.24
 4.65
 0.15
 0.50


 A977
 
 0.25
 0.01
 0.06
 


 A985
 
 0.41
 9.05
 6.51
 


 M73
 
 
 
 
 0.72


 M74
 0.02
 
 
 0.19
 


 M77
 1.76
 1.53
 3.15
 3.14
 6.08


 M8
 0.85
 1.78
 0.09
 0.66
 1.14


 M9
 
 0.03
 
 0.52
 


 M90
 
 0.10
 0.12
 0.17
 



  The figures shown above are rounded to the nearest £0.01 million and are adjusted to take account of accruals. They are for new construction and minor improvement schemes that have been completed, and do not include maintenance costs. They exclude preparation costs on schemes where construction has not yet begun. The figures do not include expenditure on the M74 and M77 PPP schemes.

  Complete figures for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 are not available. The figures for 2005-06 show the estimated outturn but some minor adjustments may still be made until the accounts for the year are closed.

Roads

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on road safety improvements on each trunk road in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: The following table shows how much has been spent on accident remedial schemes on each trunk road in the financial years 2001-02 to 2005-06. Expenditure prior to 2001-02 is not available on a road by road basis.

  Road safety improvements are also delivered as part of larger improvement and maintenance schemes on the trunk road network or by national education programmes. It is not possible to quantify the proportion of the costs of these schemes which relate to road safety improvements.

  

 Trunk Road
2001-02(£)
2002-03(£)
2003-04(£)
2004-05(£)
2005-06(£)


 A1
 5,048.33
 90,082.04
 192,632.65
 16,557.66
 36,161.05


 A68
 409.21
 70,267.32
 227,300.25
 277,766.28
 40,339.96


 A6091
 1,024.15
 526.28
 24,941.76
 40,098.89
 770.27


 A7
 143.84
 0.00
 14,837.07
 43,545.26
 12,112.10


 A701
 0.00
 0.00
 19,164.53
 5,719.97
 5,235.09


 A702
 2,634.07
 70,824.04
 49,148.95
 190,593.53
 98,868.15


 A720
 968.73
 325,325.78
 63,404.71
 5,157.25
 0.00


 A725
 0.00
 326,721.89
 32,061.20
 17,469.00
 19,274.06


 A726
 0.00
 25,760.39
 2,313.66
 11,724.52
 6,622.22


 A737
 212.40
 28,045.69
 159,517.29
 7,518.15
 7,370.97


 A738
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00


 A75
 0.00
 7,944.27
 27,622.14
 19,266.68
 34,469.09


 A76
 1,318.43
 73,339.53
 29,489.67
 22,416.13
 31,435.12


 A77
 6,110.14
 217,232.27
 44,387.11
 279,737.12
 280,100.48


 A78
 0.00
 21,521.25
 123,423.04
 98,599.52
 40,125.21


 A751
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00


 A8
 940.38
 41,192.53
 109,998.47
 4,846.52
 118.25


 A80
 0.00
 122,136.54
 13,103.73
 8,004.85
 77,476.95


 A82
 105,328.60
 63,446.08
 63,548.08
 235,209.97
 46,708.15


 A823(M)
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 326.63


 A828
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00


 A83
 0.00
 2,160.00
 7,107.89
 37,703.34
 25,610.25


 A830
 49,236.86
 0.00
 3,533.77
 2,725.38
 19,098.92


 A835
 0.00
 0.00
 10,086.21
 9,298.74
 4,206.06


 A84
 18,644.21
 0.00
 6,223.11
 54,075.53
 14,115.15


 A85
 9,521.01
 4,894.72
 11,671.57
 188,858.83
 178,208.85


 A86
 2,193.75
 1,190.88
 2,324.99
 889.26
 15,714.26


 A87
 589.55
 1,584.00
 2,179.88
 14,029.95
 86,031.54


 A876
 2,000.00
 0.00
 3,167.93
 0.00
 0.00


 A887
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00


 A889
 0.00
 0.00
 752.57
 640.00
 0.00


 A893
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00


 A898
 89,387.44
 2,462.45
 5,997.73
 412.67
 78.36


 A9
 73,339.93
 346,210.19
 130,454.79
 212,546.40
 167,246.02


 A90
 22,046.05
 86,744.48
 124,004.59
 85,502.98
 100,329.16


 A92
 4,687.50
 10,156.51
 3,979.42
 91,247.22
 141,957.57


 A95
 0.00
 0.00
 55,069.67
 3,329.43
 487.36


 A96
 0.00
 142,008.77
 200,952.96
 94,543.48
 263,892.92


 A972
 0.00
 5,985.99
 754.96
 0.00
 0.00


 A977
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00


 A985
 0.00
 0.00
 3,798.25
 120,278.46
 9,166.03


 A99
 0.00
 0.00
 3,933.81
 5,960.07
 2,393.82


 M73
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 1,842.20
 9,899.75


 M77
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00
 0.00


 M74/A74(M)
 682.73
 154,884.20
 133.37
 4,618.09
 48,016.96


 M898
 0.00
 2,403.91
 6,809,81
 231.18
 15.82


 M9
 0.00
 29,269.26
 144,523.23
 20,138.49
 6,850.39


 M90
 0.00
 9,418.92
 10,887.99
 0.00
 10,198.71


 M8
 0.00
 31,983.67
 121,952.19
 944.07
 95,825.01


 M80
 0.00
 0.00
 2,799.45
 996.74
 13,871.34


 M876
 0.00
 7,809.05
 70,479.38
 37,332.07
 7,887.53



  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on pedestrian safety improvements on each trunk road in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: Pedestrian safety improvements on trunk roads are delivered as part of larger schemes on the trunk road network. It is not possible therefore to quantify how much of the overall spend relates to pedestrian safety improvements.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available in respect of the number of car journeys made on the (a) A9 between Perth and Stirling and (b) A90 between Perth and Dundee in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: Information on traffic flows on Scottish trunk roads is collected in terms of Annual Average Daily Flows for different classes of vehicle.

  Traffic data extracted from the Scottish Roads Traffic Database (SRTDb) for the A9 between Perth and Stirling and the A90 between Perth and Dundee from the automatic traffic counter sites at A9 Blackford and A90 Longforgan shows the following traffic flows:

  A9 Blackford

  

 Year
 Annual Average Daily Flow (AADF) All Vehicles
 AADF Cars Only


 2001
 18,480
 15,089


 2002
 *N/A
 *N/A


 2003
 25,596
 19,547


 2004
 24,592
 19,671


 2005
 25,742
 20,729



  Note: *Data not available because of equipment failure.

  A90 Longforgan

  

 Year
 Annual Average Daily Flow (AADF) All Vehicles
 AADF Cars Only


 2001
 31,584
 24,293


 2002
 32,262
 24,936


 2003
 32,828
 26,352


 2004
 32,476
 27,049


 2005
 34,808
 28,596



  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available in respect of the number of car journeys made on the (a) A85 between Perth and Crieff/Comrie and (b) A823 between Crieff and Greenloaning in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: Information on traffic flows on Scottish trunk roads is collected in terms of Annual Average Daily Flows for different classes of vehicle.

  Traffic data extracted from the Scottish Roads Traffic Database (SRTDb) for the A85 between Perth and Crieff from the automatic traffic counter site at A85 Gilmerton shows the following traffic flows:

  

 Year
 Annual Average Daily Flow (AADF) All Vehicles
 AADF Cars Only


 2001
 4,054
 3,436


 2002
 4,005
 3,367


 2003
 4,286
 3,646


 2004
 4,375
 4,027


 2005
 4,346
 4,009



  The A823 is not a trunk road and is the responsibility of the local roads authority, Perth and Kinross Council.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for trunk roads, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Scottish Enterprise

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any money from Scotland’s European funding allocation has been used at any time to meet deficits within Scottish Enterprise; whether it can guarantee that no such money will be used in future to meet budget deficits within Scottish Enterprise, and whether, in light of Scottish Enterprise’s budget deficit, it is satisfied that EU resources within Scottish Enterprise have been adequately spent and accounted for.

Allan Wilson: No European funding received by Scottish Enterprise has been used at any time to meet deficits within Scottish Enterprise and no such money will be used in future to meet such deficits. ERDF is paid to Scottish Enterprise in respect of project expenditure that has already been defrayed. No payments are made in advance of project expenditure except in one instance – the Scottish Co-Investment Fund, where the entire ERDF contribution was paid into the fund in advance. Scottish Enterprise therefore claims ERDF awards only where project expenditure is defrayed, that is, paid into other organisations bank accounts. Scottish Co-Investment Fund resources are not available for general Scottish Enterprise use.

  With European Social Fund (ESF) resources, a 30% advance is paid on project approval. A set of checks is in place to give assurance that theses resources are used for the purpose claimed, and Scottish Enterprise can only claim further instalments of each ESF award when they have demonstrated that the advance has been properly defrayed.

Scottish Executive Advertising

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on road safety campaign advertising in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: Spending on road safety campaign advertising is given in the following table:

  

 Year
 Spending


 1999-2000
£663,536


 2000-01
£1,060,366


 2001-02
£1,340,164


 2002-03
£1,565,607


 2003-04
£1,002,583


 2004-05
£1,019,016


 2005-06
£605,925



  Note: The figure for 2005-06 is provisional.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23500 by Mr Tom McCabe on 9 March 2006, how it monitors the impact of its procurement methods on the Scottish economy and on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not formally monitor the impact of its procurement methods on the Scottish economy or on small and medium-sized enterprises; public procurement processes are regulated by European Directives which promote fair and open competition, and do not permit consideration of the impact on the Scottish economy when awarding contracts.

  The Executive has, however, taken measures through commissioning the recently published Review of Public Procurement in Scotland Report and through on-going dialogue with businesses and their representative organisations to ensure that public sector procurement processes are open to small and medium-sized enterprises and to social enterprises.

Sexual Offences

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted of an offence under section 1 of the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 since the act came into force.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2O-9679 on 4 May 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Tourism

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support or encouragement it has given to VisitScotland or other tourist bodies to promote Doric or Lallan Scots language tourism.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive considers Scots and its regional forms to be an important part of Scotland’s distinctive linguistic and cultural heritage. VisitScotland is therefore encouraged to promote Scots language tourism where it is appropriate to do so. For example, VisitScotland supports the Doric Festival which takes place in and around Aberdeen every autumn, and EventScotland supports a number of events celebrating the work of Robert Burns. Celebrating the life and work of Burns will also be one of the themes of Year of Homecoming in 2009.

Transport

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the traffic regulations are in respect of the use of Greenways.

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for monitoring the use of Greenways.

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the traffic regulations are in respect of the use of private hire cabs.

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the traffic regulations are in respect of the use of Greenways by private hire cabs.

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for any changes to the type of vehicles that can use Greenways and what the criteria are for making any such changes.

Tavish Scott: The regulation and monitoring of Greenways in Edinburgh is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council as local roads authority.

  Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the council has a general duty to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic. This general duty is met by the local authority making traffic regulation orders which can be introduced for a variety of reasons including the allocation of road space for specific purposes such as Greenways and can specify which class of vehicle can or cannot use them.

  This is entirely a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish ministers cannot intervene.

Voluntary Sector

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are permitted to charge peppercorn rents to voluntary organisations and, if so, under what circumstances and what legislation regulates the conditions under which this may be done.

Mr Tom McCabe: Under Section 74(2) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as currently in force, local authorities require ministerial consent to dispose of any land for a consideration that is less than the best that can reasonably be obtained on the market. Under current guidance, consent will generally be given to local authorities to charge low rents to voluntary organisations, where one or more of the following criteria have been met:

  the intending buyer or lessee is performing a charitable or public service function to the benefit of the local community, and the local authority can show that the organisation or activity thus supported is consistent with public benefit and that the intending buyer or lessee is unable to afford the asset at its current valuation.

  the intending buyer or lessee would be using the asset to promote economic development or regeneration within the council’s boundaries, such that the local authority can demonstrate a business case for the asset transfer at the discounted value.

  the intending buyer or lessee is a public sector or voluntary body which intends to use the asset for public purpose, and the local authority can show that the activities thereby supported are consistent with the authority’s published policy objectives.

  the local authority can demonstrate that the overall cost to the authority of the transfer is outweighed by consequent savings to the council in pursuing a published policy objective.

  the value of the asset is low, such that the income forfeited by the transfer is less than the cost of maintaining the asset, and transfer is to be at nominal value with the purchaser paying the local authority’s legal expenses and costs of transfer.

  Section 11 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 has yet to be brought into force, but will amend section 74(2) of the 1973 act. The Executive has consulted on proposed new regulations under this provision. In general terms, these regulations would allow local authority disposal of land for a consideration less than the best that can reasonably be obtained for small value landholdings, and for disposals where the difference between the best consideration that can reasonably be obtained, and the proposed consideration, is less than a marginal amount to be stated in the regulations. They would also allow the Scottish ministers to specify further circumstances and procedures by which a local authority may dispose of land for a consideration less than the best that can be reasonably obtained.

Wind Farms

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how the outstanding objections in relation to the Lewis Wind Power and Eisgein wind farm proposals will be treated in the event of the planning applications being modified and re-advertised.

Allan Wilson: All objections will be fully considered before any decision is made on these applications. In the event that either proposal is referred to public local inquiry, objectors will be given the opportunity to make their case to such an inquiry.